ABSTRACT
Policing has experienced significant changes in the light of terrorism. Amendments of legal provisions to better control the phenomenon of terrorism in particular have impacted on policing in a local and global context. Changing laws in relation to detention times and the questioning of suspects, as happened both in the 1970s in Europe and after September 11 globally, have in some countries, like Australia, the UK and the US, consequently changed the way law enforcement officers from a variety of agencies deal with terrorism suspects. The threat of terrorism since 9/11 generally has also led to a more or less global concerted effort by law enforcement agencies to work together by, for example, exchanging information and assisting each other with investigations. Within this cooperation, one could say that the law plays a minor role. More important here are informal networks and possibilities to exchange information quickly and efficiently. 1 To ensure swift interaction between law enforcement actors in, for example, the area of information exchange, the formal established diplomatic channels might not always be sufficient.It could hence be assumed that the local and the global level of counter-terrorism policing follow opposite trajectories. While the fight against terrorism at the local level is ruled by formal regulation, ‘global’ or international and regional policing strategies seem to be dominated by informal networks.
